Couple’s IVF hope after tragic loss

Clare and Damian Walker from Morley who are fundraising for IVF treatment through a crowdfunding campaign.

Published:10:52Wednesday 30 March 2016

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After suffering the traumatic loss of her premature first born, Clare Walker is hoping for another chance at a family with the help of others.

The 30-year-old telesales consultant and her husband Damian, 35, from Morley, have launched a crowdfunding campaign to reignite their hopes of having a child through a second cycle of IVF treatment.

In July 2004 Clare gave birth to her daughter Courtney Jade just days after her 20 week scan as a result of a placenta infection.

Her daughter, weighing less than 1lb, lived for just three-and-a-half hours. Clare registered Courtney Jade’s birth and death at the same time.

After losing her daughter and struggling with post natal depression, Clare found out her fallopian tubes were not working and had to make the dreaded decision to have them removed - which meant IVF was the only option.

But her NHS-funded first cycle of IVF failed last year.

She said: “We’ve had a really good reaction from people – they’ve been saying they want us to do it and try again.

“I was going through stages of thinking about adoption and thinking what if it doesn’t work again but we’re going to see what happens.”

The couple were inspired to start fundraising by Kyle and Kirsty Morgan, who hit the news last year after they funded their IVF treatment in Athens, Greece, by holding car boot sales.

Kirsty is currently pregnant and the couple’s baby is due in late May.

Clare and Damian hope to follow suit and travel to Greece, where IVF is cheaper and has a high success rate.